St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-27
MINNEAPOLIS SOCIETY.

There Vs.. little doing in society this
week; in III, t is the dullest week of the
winter; and ii any one depends OH this page
for Sunday reading he will have death of
it. Causes for the quiet are rather hard TO
find. 1t is impossible to say Lent has such
q powerful hold on Minneapolis people.
For the first two weeks in Lent were but
little less gay than the latter part of Janu
AIRY. Presumably, then, this past week of
rest has come By tacit consent on the part
of all parties. 1t is good thing to stop
once in while. and if rest is good for the
individual, why not for the community?
~
rSarreiIt's eTea, annsant at the Grand has
rsrtskeD samewEat vi a social character,
fho' he and his company did not receive
anything like the curdiaiity with which the
Ideals will be welcomed. There were two
or three ilicogruitieS in the costumng which
rather marred an otherwise superb preSenta-
ton. In the first act the Lady ColOEna rather
startled her audience by appearing III a eos
tune of very modern brOcaded plush-made
presumably in the fashion of the four
teenth century, and wearing with the dress
pair of the very latest kid gloves. 1t may
be that the present style in kid gloves is Il
revival of that prevalent during the last
crusade, but the impression holds that the
undressed kid and small. pearl glove buttons
and embroidered backs are things OF to-day.
Now, had the gloves even been mosque
taives they would have been less objection
able, because slightly older.
~
Where so much attention is given to ac-
ceSsorleS as was displayed i'll "Rienzi' incon-
gruitieS are far more noticeable than where
i'm IiNa of &c
attempted. In the first act Mr.. Barrett's
magnificent black gown was scarcely long
enough to conceal his everyday boots,
which should have been resting in his
dressing room. 1t would be difficult, per-
hapS, To assign the cause, but certain it
was that ''RienZi'' did not evoke the enthuSl-
astc applause that has greeted Lawrence
Barrett on former visits to Minneapolis.
The play seems well calculated to display
the tTagedianS powers, the coStumlng IS
the most elegant that ever he has displayed,
the support, while not of as high an order
as appeared with Barrett last year, is yet
satisfactory, and the stage settings and ac
cessorieS surpass anything before seen on
our stage, and yet the applause was light,
and only once during the entire perform
ance did the audience feel the old time
thrill and enthusiasm which had dis
tingushed the production OF "Richelieu."
Francesca" and Hamlet by the same ira
gedian. Slight applause was construed into
a recall, and the curtain rose again at de-
mands that could have been very justly ig
nored.
1t may be that on the evening when the
above impressions were received, there was
a repelling power in the audience itself,
which acted &c lamOpr fha 1rllnr Of the
actors. 1t is said that much of the success
Of the drama depends upon sympathy be-
tween the players and their auditors, and
the feeling can be easily understood
There are many young ladies who can
play the piano with great expression and
power in the presence of certain people,
while others unintentionally act as a re-
pressing force, and the performer is made
TO feel an uncomfortable embarrassment or
uneasineSs in their presence which pre-
cludes the posS Utility of good work.
OF course actors with the long
experience of Mr.. Barrett should be able
10 remove such difficulty. and he is. as a
rule. equal to every emergency. There
were times Oh the evening in question
when the entire audience united in paying
tribute to his genius, but the occasions
were few compared with the opportunities
offered by the lines.
The social column has seldom been given
over to an attempt at theatrical criticism,
AID the cause of this deviation was the I'M
dressed kids worn by Lady COlonna. 1t is
all right to wear undresSed kid gloves, and,
no doubt, Lady Coionna is fully aware of
the fact: but If she would kindly get some
thing more suggestive of the century in
which she is livng-for you know we in
the audience are looking at people who trod
the earth nearly 500 years ago-if she
would only wear pair Of fifteenth century
gloves. or none, as may have been the fash
ion of her time. the reader will surely par
don theatrical talk.